Given the fissures in Middle Eastern society, it is tempting to think that democracy is bound to fail there. Pessimists argue that the Arab Spring countries will revert to rule by “strongmen.” The Arab Spring may appear to have failed, but in five key respects the Arab world has changed irrevocably.

3.
Connection to the West

The effects of globalization have changed attitudes toward the West. Thanks to migration and telecommunications, Arabs in particular and Muslims in general are now physically and virtually connected to Europe and the US as never before. They may not approve of everything they see in the West, but they nevertheless are seeing how Western political institutions of freedom actually work.